Bhubaneswar: The state government with assistance from the Union government is working hard to make Konark India’s first ever ‘Zero Emission City’ by September 2022, following which the city will use only renewable sources for its energy demands.
The government agencies involved in the work claimed that several aspects of the project have already been completed, while the remaining work is being completed on war footing. All off-grid (not connected to grids) interventions for the project are likely to be completed by September this year, while work on the remaining grid will be over by September next year, officials at Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) told Orissa POST.
OREDA has recently taken up the work to set up solar panels at the Konark temple as well as across Konark city. To achieve this, OREDA has been working on two different kinds of interventions, including off-grid project for the Konark Notified Area Council (NAC) area where smaller solar equipment are being installed.
“There is a vision for the development of the city. In future when the city develops, it will have more energy consumption demands. We have planned how to reduce the dependency of the city on fossil energy and boost use of renewable energy sources like solar energy,” Ashok Choudhury, Joint Director, OREDA, told this correspondent.
The agency has planned solar trees, drinking water stations, rooftop solar panels, introduction of electric vehicles and battery charging stations. The city will soon host charging points for electric vehicles passenger and commercial vehicles.
“To ensure that Konark becomes a zero emission town, we have calculated its entire energy consumption. It came around 10 Mega Watt. Konark is not a feasible area for setting up of a solar power plant due to its proximity to Bay of Bengal. Corrosion activities and vulnerability to cyclones could have created problem for such plants technically,” he said.
Instead, OREDA plans to install a solar power plant at Kalahandi to cater to the energy demands of the city. A 10MW solar power plant for Konark will be setup soon at Kalahnadi soon. The tender process is already over and work will start soon, the official said.
As per the plan, the energy produced in Kalahandi will be supplied to the local grid. “If the energy produced in Kalahandi is in excess of the city’s demands, Konark will be emission free. We are likely to complete the project by September 2022. Konark will be India’s first zero emission city after achieving the target,” he said.
Manish Kumar, OP